• Band / Artist : The Ride Theory
• Genre : Rock / Pop
• Sample Track Download : I’m on Board
• Buy CD : Buy
• Buy Digital Download : Buy iTunes
• Rating : 8 out of 10

A lot of the fun listening to bands sometimes, is trying to guess their influences. Sometimes you listen to a band and you can hear who influenced them right off the bat. With The Ride Theory it wasn’t immediately obvious, but the more I listened, the more I could hear the influences of the Kinks, the Small Faces and most of all, the one you couldn’t mistake at all was the early R&B sound of the Rolling Stones, especially on the first track. The Ride Theory remind me a lot of a UK band from the late 90’s called Ocean Colour Scene. They had a real 60s rock sound, but had managed to give it a real 90’s edge. The Ride Theory has done the same, but now with a 00s edge (or as I prefer to call it, the naughties).

I’m on Board has that classic 60’s sound with a pounding drum beat and to complete the bluesy sound, there’s also a harmonica, but don’t let that fool you, this is most definitely a modern take on the 60’s blues sound. This is one of the standout tracks for me along with Truce with it’s driving guitar sound. However Devil in my Heart and Hey Sugar are my favorite tracks, showing a softer more melodic side of the band. In fact this album is a bit of a Jackle and Hyde, but that’s not a bad thing, the two different styles contrast nicely and go to make a nicely balanced album.

The more I listen to this album, the more Kinks influence I hear. There’s also a ton of originality in the band, so it’s not all some good sounding pastiche of a band, just some underlying influences that surface in the songs every once in a while.

Conclusion : This is a very tight band with a sound that belies their youthful age. I love to whack up the volume on this one. I’m looking forward to what 2006 may bring from the band.